The XM3 is a prototype bolt action rifle, designed to be an improvement over the M40A3 sniper rifle. Built from the Remington 40X rifle frame, the XM3 is said to be lighter and more compact than the M40A3 as well as providing a better field of vision, to improve its user's lethality while increasing their survivability.
After the United States began to get involved in conflicts in the Middle East, the shortcomings of the M40 sniper rifle in use with the Marine Corps began to become apparent. As a result, the Marines requested a rifle that would be shorter, lighter, quieter, and have a better field of view. Calls for such a rifle were submitted by the sniper platoons on the front lines, with the US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) being the first to respond.
Beginning in 2003, DARPA began to design a rifle to meet these requirements, and partnered with Iron Brigade Armory Ltd. around 2005. The prototype, then dubbed the M40XM1, officially began development in 2005. A total of five potential configurations for the rifle were drafted before DARPA settled on the final configuration for the rifle, at which point the design was named the XM3.
Although the XM3 shares many things in common with the M40 it was based on, it does feature a number of design changes. The XM3's lighter weight was achieved by using a custom-made hollowed-out stock made out of modern materials, and the rifle's action, recoil lugs, Picatinny rail mountings, and scope rings were made of lightweight titanium. The XM3 features a fluted 18.5 inch barrel, as opposed to the M40A3's 25 inch barrel. This helps to make the weapon significantly more compact, and Remington stated that the XM3 was more accurate over a longer distance than the M40A3 even with the reduced barrel length. The XM3's barrel was also match chambered for M118LR 7.62x51 NATO ammunition, and threaded to allow for the attachment of suppressors. The XM3 was overall more compatible with modern tactical equipment than the M40A3, as on top of Picatinny rails, the rifle also incorporated UNS Mounts designed for the mounting of night vision equipment.[1][2]
A total of fifty-two XM3 rifles were produced, all hand-built by the Marine Corps Precision Weapons Shop in Quantico, Virginia. The US Marine Corps started to take deliveries of the first rifles in 2006, just twelve months after the design was formally penned down. The XM3 was well-received by its users, mainly due to its lighter weight and admirable accuracy even when suppressed. Unfortunately, a few problems arose with the XM3 rifles once they began to see use. The XM3 program was never official, and so no structured training or maintenance program was put in place for these rifles. Another problem was with the rifle's optic, which was the same scope used on the Mk.13 MOD 5 sniper rifles but adjusted in MOA as opposed to MIL adjustments.
The M40A5 ended up winning the official service contract with the Marine Corps, with most of the XM3 rifles eventually becoming theater assets, with 48 of them being sent to the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia. These 48 rifles were slated for destruction in August 2012, but the destruction never came to be. Some time in 2014, all 52 of the XM3 rifles were transferred to the US Army, which turned the rifles over to the Civilian Marksmanship Program, where they have been auctioned off to civilians.[3]
